Pause
Read
CEA vacancy search engine

Nanodiamond-based porous electrodes: towards photoelectrocatalytic production of solar fuels


Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DRF-24-0426  

Direction

DRF

Thesis topic details

Category

Condensed Matter Physics, chemistry, nanosciences

Thesis topics

Nanodiamond-based porous electrodes: towards photoelectrocatalytic production of solar fuels

Contract

Thèse

Job description

Among nanoscale semiconductors, nanodiamonds (ND) have not been really considered yet for photoelectrocatalytic reactions in the energy-related field. This originates from the confusion with ideal monocrystalline diamond featuring a wide bandgap (5.5 eV) that requires a deep UV illumination to initiate photoreactivity. At the nanoscale, ND enclose native defects (sp2 carbon, chemical impurities such as nitrogen) that can create energetic states in the diamond’s bandgap decreasing the light energy needed to initiate the charge separation. In addition, the diamond electronic structure can be strongly modified (over several eV) playing on its surface terminations (oxidized, hydrogenated, aminated) which can open the door to optimized band alignments with the species to be reduced or oxidized. Combining these assets, ND becomes competitive with other semiconductors toward photoreactions. The aim of this PhD is to investigate the ability of nanodiamonds in reducing CO2 through photoelectrocatalysis. To achieve this goal, electrodes will be made from nanodiamonds with different surface chemistries (oxidized, hydrogenated and aminated), either using a conventional ink-type approach or a more innovative one that results in a porous material including nanodiamonds and a PVD-deposited matrix. Then, the (photo)electrocatalytic performances under visible illumination of these nanodiamond-based electrodes toward CO2 reduction will be investigated in terms of production rate and selectivity, in presence or not of a transition metal macrocyclic molecular co-catalyst.

University / doctoral school

Sciences Chimiques: Molécules, Matériaux, Instrumentation et Biosystèmes (2MIB)
Paris-Saclay

Thesis topic location

Site

Saclay

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2024

Person to be contacted by the applicant

ARNAULT Jean-Charles jean-charles.arnault@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/NIMBE/LEDNA
Laboratoire des Edifices Nanométriques
CEA NIMBE, CEA/Saclay, PC 6
Bâtiment 522
91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex
01 68 08 71 02

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

GIRARD Hugues hugues.girard@cea.fr
CEA
DRF/IRAMIS/NIMBE/LEDNA
Centre de Saclay
Bat 522 PC 6
91191 Gif sur Yvette

0169084760

En savoir plus

https://iramis.cea.fr/nimbe/Phocea/Membres/Annuaire/index.php?uid=jarnault
https://iramis.cea.fr/nimbe/ledna/